need advice for my BRT! :(

[sofiabonsai03]

I’ve had my BRT for 3 years and admittedly haven’t been taking the best care of it: I grow it indoors (because my apartment at the time didn’t have a balcony), I don’t practice wiring, I don’t prune consistently, and started consistently fertilizing about a year ago. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs with it; in October 2024 (shortly after a move to a new apartment) the leaves began drying up and wouldn’t ever open (see second picture). I should’ve repotted it at the time but I didn’t feel confident doing it myself and got busy with school . My current apartment has a balcony so I kept it outside in an attempt to help, making sure to bring it in on cold nights. Now it’s January and all leaves have fallen off, and the few small sprouts (new growth) have died off. I know the tree isn’t dead because when I scratch a bit at the trunk it’s still green. I still water it, but only when the soil has dried up enough. These past few weeks I’ve kept it inside as temperatures have been so up and down where I am (Houston, TX), and as winter progresses I’m considering buying a grow light for it.

I know I need to repot it/take it to a specialist to repot it, but should I wait to do this until Spring arrives? Also, what grow lights do y’all recommend? Is my tree just going through a really difficult dormant period? Is there still hope? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! Also if anyone in the Houston area knows of a bonsai specialist that would be great!

 

[MrBonsai19]

Sharing a couple points of feedback in case its helpful to you:

• Tropical trees are ideally repotted in the summer.
• It doesn't sound like dormancy to me; tropical trees should stay active throughout the year although growth will slow down during periods of shorter daylight, it's not like a deciduous tree that would ever drop all its leaves solely due to being in winter. So I think it's pretty likely stressed for some reason. Could be water or could be light, or could be some pest issue.
• Usually issues with lack of nutrients/fertilizer show up with yellowing leaves, not so much drooping/saggy leaves. I'm just speaking from my experience with other tropicals though as I dont have a BRT to offer direct experience from.
• Lack of pruning/shaping should be irrelevant to the health issues you are currently seeing so don't worry too much about that

It's certainly suspect that the health has declined since you have moved to a new location. I am not sure exactly what that could be caused by, since it sounds like the tree is getting more light now compared to its previous location but location-specific factors are worth considering exhaustively. I would try to gently lift/remove the entire tree from the container and inspect the root ball. It will give you some indication of how badly the tree is root bound, whether there are any rotting roots or whether there are any roots girdling the trunk. It might also give you an indication if the roots are being affected by some pests. I would not do anything else to the root mass and just replace it in the pot after taking some time to assess it visually.

For now I would probably just try to wait it out and dial in your watering, maximize sunlight and warmth, and minimize cold exposure as best as possible. Give it as much light as you can, water only when necessary, and don't let it get exposed to temperatures below 40F. And maybe post a picture of your root ball if you do take a look at that.

 

[Zac]

BRT's like the soil to stay moist never drying out. They also do not like the dry heat of heating systems. When I first bring mine in for the winter it abandons most or all its leaves but not the buds the new leaves come out once it gets accustomed to inside I use grow lights and a humidifier and little fan for my tropicals.

 

[Carol 83]

It's looking rough but I've had a BRT sit with no leaves for months before it started growing again. I would suggest to quit moving it in and out. If it's going to stay 40 or below just leave it inside for the winter and give it as much light as you can or buy a grow light. The pot suggests it came from Wigert's. That potting mix will retain water, so water gingerly. It won't need that much water when it has no leaves. Tropicals should be repotted in the summer when they're growing strong. Repotting a weak tree is going to do more harm than good. Have patience, I bet it will recover.

 

[sofiabonsai03]

Thank you all so much for the advice!! :’) And yes Carol, you’re right, it’s from Wigerts! Got it as a gift and we’ve been through college together so far— holds a place in my heart :’)

I inspected the rootball (see pictures) and can’t tell how badly root-bound it is. What do y’all think? Also there doesn’t seem to be any sign of pests, and I’m pretty sure there’s no sign of root rot—it didn’t smell like it either.

As suggested I will continue to water when needed and keep it indoors. Do y’all have any affordable recommendations for grow lights? I’m considering using LEDs, though I’m not sure what magnitude of Watt/Lumens/Kelvins to look for.

Also would y’all recommend snipping off the obviously dead ends of branches (see pictures)? Or is it unnecessary?

 

[Carol 83]

Wait for summer to repot. You can trim the obviously dead branches if you feel the need. Be careful on anything green, they will die back to the next node. I use full spectrum LED's.